Idea reveals need for wind turbine rules

Daniel Cailler

Friday

Jun 25, 2010 at 12:01 AMJun 25, 2010 at 1:00 PM

Colin Malaker is hoping his dentistry business can grab cost savings out of thin air.

Malaker recently received a permit through the city’s protective inspection office to install a wind turbine at his Sterling Dental Care office, 3408 Buttonwood Drive. He said the Falcon 12-kilowatt vertical axis wind turbine, which will be installed in August, will help lower his overhead.

“With our federal government coming down so hard on fossil fuels, it is going to drive the cost up for electric companies,” Malaker said. “With this, I can start generating electricity with 5 mph winds.”

California-based WePower is the manufacturer of a line of wind turbines targeted for residential and light commercial uses. They range from 600-watt to 12-kilowatt models and retail from about $10,000 to $75,000.

Howard Makler is the president of WePower, which he started about two years ago. WePower has about 100 turbines in the field internationally. He said the appeal of the company’s turbines is their convenience.

“These are not utility-grade,” Makler said. “We sell ones that commercial businesses can use near storefronts and that residents can use at their homes.”

All have a base about 5 feet in diameter — small enough to fit in any lot — and are about 18 feet tall, shorter than most tree lines and less obtrusive than horizontal-axis varieties commonly seen grouped in rural areas.

“Our models don’t look like propellers,” Makler said. “They are much more suitable for urban environments.”

Although the city approved Malaker’s permit, the issue brought to light that the city’s zoning requirements don’t specifically address wind turbines — only windmills, which are used agriculturally to pump water.

“Certainly we’re encouraging these from the Water and Light perspective,” City Manager Bill Watkins said at Monday’s Columbia City Council meeting. “However, there are no real requirements one way or the other in terms of the zoning issues.”

The council forwarded the issue to the Planning and Zoning Commission to research how to address future requests.

Malaker’s turbine will hook into the city’s power grid, allowing him to participate in a city program that refunds customers for adding power to the grid when they produce more energy than they consume.

Connie Kacprowicz, Columbia Water and Light spokeswoman, said the program started in 2007 and has three solar customers. Malaker, its first wind customer, could receive 2 cents per kilowatt-hour. His turbine could produce up to 42,000 kwh annually.

“For me, the savings is in offsetting the usage,” Malaker said, adding that he should make his money back in about seven years.

Makler said the turbines also qualify for a 30 percent tax credit for all costs associated with purchase and installation.

“When you look at incentives, there really couldn’t be a better time for people to embrace renewable energy,” Makler said.

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